Custom In-Wall 150 Project

[steve68]

My temp went up to 87, i also had a mag 24 as my return so the combanation of the 2 was a little 2 much in my 55 gallon sump.i ended up with the mag 18 for a return & no skimmer till i got my new sump, i bought a sequence 3200 for the return & an iwaki 70rlt for the skimmer temp went down to 80, & they are loud pumps compare to my sequence but noise was not an issue for me fish room is on the other side of the wall.

 

[conda]

My temp went up to 87, i also had a mag 24 as my return so the combanation of the 2 was a little 2 much in my 55 gallon sump.i ended up with the mag 18 for a return & no skimmer till i got my new sump, i bought a sequence 3200 for the return & an iwaki 70rlt for the skimmer temp went down to 80, & they are loud pumps compare to my sequence but noise was not an issue for me fish room is on the other side of the wall.

Ok, thanks for the info. I will keep that in mind and check the temp when I get to that point. I hope I won't need a chiller, how would I explain that expense to my wife?!?!

The good thing is that the tank and sump are in the laundry room, which is underground and stays cool year round. So maybe an AC might work in this sittuation.

 

[conda]

I think that stupid probe holder has been a real pain and you should break it off. (I've never tried doing that, btw.)

I'm not breaking anything! lol. Actually, I like the holder and will use it eventually. I should have just purchased a bigger sump from you--or a smaller skimmer. Hind site.

That little drain valve on the collection cup: I turned mine upward, and put a small piece of tubing on it as tall as the lid. This helps me make sure to wash out the cup regularly and not put it off.

I saw a pic on your site where you had a tube on it and directed it into a gallon jug. I was going to do something like that.

Also, I put a piece of acrylic under my stand so that the skimmer's moisture and occasional skimmate didn't get the stand wet. You could probably put cloroplast in there quite easily. That is the stuff cheap signs are made of, and it is sold by the sheet at any hobby store in a variety of colors. One day I gotta get a piece and put some pictures on my site so I can show people what I'm talking about.

That's what I like best about you Marc, you throw out so many ideas. Now this is a great idea! I was trying to think of a way to cover the top near the skimmer head and the back of the stand where I didn't finish drywalling. I purchased some plastic vapor barrier stuff, but changed my mind. If you do this yourself, let me know.

 

[melev]

The problem with using a jug to hold skimmate is that it allows you to be lazy about cleaning the skimmer. I did the bottle thing for a while (a month, perhaps), and then decided that was not a good option. First of all the jug was in the way and an eye-sore. But once I got into the habit of cleaning out the skimmer every 2 or 3 days, efficiency improved greatly.

That riser tube of your skimmer will get a gunk on the inside, and that will need to be wiped out regularly. I cleaned that out each time I cleaned the cup.

The piece of acrylic over my skimmer worked great and kept the stand from absorbing moisture. I know you painted your stand, but wiping off the acrylic was easy where wiping of painted wood isn't quite as effortless.

 

[Fursphere]

Lol. Ok, I'll wait. Thanks.

I told you I was plumbing challenged. I'm trying to get it all to fit under the stand and not interfere with my wife's laundry room--of which I took over 80% of.

Well, after staring at all the available pictures of your setup, and keeping in mind that space is king, I've only come up with one other option.

I was trying to come up with a way to keep that pump input from sticking out so far, but then I realized how your closed loop was setup, and all my ideas from earlier went right out the window.

Personally, I don't like the idea of having the actual 4-way below the tank, makes plumbing underneath a bit cluttered (you've seen my setup.. heh), but since you're going into the SIDE of your tank, and not the top like I did, I'm not sure if going up high, then bringing the returns back down low would accomplish anything.

So.........

My only other idea is this..... and its a bit complicated, and again, i'm not sure if it would be better or worse than your current plan, but it sure would look cool.

Ok, instead of putting the 4-way directly above the pump, put a 90 degree elbow there, and go straight out the far end (right side, looking from the back) of the stand. Mount the 4-way there, horizontally. Now, using 45 degree PVC peices, get all the outputs pointing "UP" (just like this http://www.fursphere.com/plumbing23.jpg with four instead of eight, and small 45 peices instead of those big grey 90s I used), in the same direction. Then just run the pipes to there desired locations, at each closed loop input. Probably the one on the far right looking directly at it going up and over the tank to the far side, the third one in going to the return closet to the 4-way, and the other two going to the back side returns.

1) This would get the majority of the plumbing out from under the stand, giving you room to work on the sump, and more room for whatever equipment you add later.

2) You could put each ball-value for each return line right there on the end, all in the same location. It would look cool.

3) You could install unions there on each line right after they all lined up the same direction, but before the ball values so if you had to remove the 4-way, its all centralized, AND you can get to the top of the 4-way with ease to swap out the drum.

4) This would also give you room to install a union on the output side of the pump between the ball value and the 4-way.

I tried a few different drums in mine before I was happy with the flow.

If you ever have to remove the 4-way, all this extra work will pay off instantly.

Make sense?

 

[Fursphere]

Here is the best I could do for a picture.

Just rotate the outputs to be straight horizontal instead of pointing down down, so with the 4-way itself mount horizontal, all four outputs would be pointing up.

 

[conda]

I think I know what you mean. But all my overflow plumbing is on that side, i'd have to try it to see if that would work.

1. Can you plumb the OM horizontally? Would't that put too much weight on the horizontal piece of PVC holding it?

2. The problem with the side return (opposite the overflow) is I have a piece of acrylic that will cover the side when I want to. So I cannot plumb over top, I must come up from the bottom. Look at the last pic I posted of the open side. That gets covered.

See my dilemma!

 

[Fursphere]

Yes, you can plumb the OM horizontally. I've even seen someone put one upside-down!

The weight might be a slight issue, so a support from below would be in order.

For the far side return (opposite the overflow), you could plumb around the back of the tank pretty easily right?

 

[conda]

For the far side return (opposite the overflow), you could plumb around the back of the tank pretty easily right?

That side needs to come out of the bulkead and straight down. Then it can go anywhere.

Tonight, I think I'm going to try what you said with the 4-way, but take two pipes along the back wall (under the stand) to the left side returns, and take the other two up under the overflow to the right two returns. That might work and keep the pipes out of the way. I have metal PVC hanger that should hold it, I just don't want it to cavitate and break anything then cause yet another flood!

I'll post back tonight on how it works out. You are right though, the original way I was doing it was taking up alot of space under the tank, and I need room to clean the skimmer--since Melev is going to make me do it twice a week!

Thanks for the help.

 

[matty0h_52]

WOW you guys are great. Ive been reading all the imput from everyone and i just have to say IM JELOUS i wish i had someone helping me with all my crazy questions. Every time i read a good idea or a post i want to go home and re-do everything. grrrr

I put a EV-180 on my 170g main with a 30g sump...i think i might be turning it in before i kick everything on.

Looks great. Love the progress. cant wait to see some more pics

 

[conda]

Just follow Melev around the forums. Eventually he will answer all your questions is a post somewhere.

 

[melev]

Who's Melev?

 

[jarhed]

Just follow Melev around the forums. Eventually he will answer all your questions is a post somewhere.

... and God bless him for that!!! ......... whoever this "Melev" guy is..

 

[melev]

My only concern about Fursphere's suggestion is possibly unfounded because I've not used a OM device yet. So feel free to chime in and set me straight.

If the device is on the right or left end of the tank, and you have to plumb a pipe to the opposite end of the tank to go in the side wall bulkhead, wouldn't that distance and resulting friction create lesser flow than one that is very close the the OM device? What I mean is if water has to flow 2' from the OM device and then 10' to another bulkhead, wouldn't the first have greater flow and the latter lesser flow?

I'd almost like to see it set up behind the tank dead center, so so that it is evenly spread out like a spider hugging the tank. :lol:

 

[Fursphere]

My only concern about Fursphere's suggestion is possibly unfounded because I've not used a OM device yet. So feel free to chime in and set me straight.

If the device is on the right or left end of the tank, and you have to plumb a pipe to the opposite end of the tank to go in the side wall bulkhead, wouldn't that distance and resulting friction create lesser flow than one that is very close the the OM device? What I mean is if water has to flow 2' from the OM device and then 10' to another bulkhead, wouldn't the first have greater flow and the latter lesser flow?

I'd almost like to see it set up behind the tank dead center, so so that it is evenly spread out like a spider hugging the tank. :lol:

Some very good points melev. And you're absolutely correct, the pressure will be different to each out due to the length of pipe used, and fittings used (90s, 45s, etc). But the difference is very little.

If you haven't seen my setup melev, click here . Eight outputs, all of different length, and piping scenarios. I haven't noticed any significate difference in "flow" or "pressure" between each output, by holding my hand in front of them in the tank. Not very scientific, but it works. The idea of the 4-way/8-way is to "mix things up", rather that provide a constant flow that is the same all the time. Each turn to a output port will be slightly different, giving the tank different flow patterns.

And yes, dead center behind the tank has my vote as well, but conda said saving space was more important....

 

[melev]

Oh, I'm subscribed to your thread, and find it fascinating how you got all of that installed. I just haven't had anything to add, so I read quietly. (Yes, that does happen from time to time. :lol: )

I vote to put it on the back of the tank. If at all possible.

 

[conda]

I just haven't had anything to add, so I read quietly. (Yes, that does happen from time to time. :lol: )

:eek2:


Now I am totally confused and have no clue what to do!

 

[melev]

Crawl back into bed, pull the covers over your head, and pray for a tomorrow.

I don't mean to confuse you. If you want to pursue what you have going right now, it'll be fine. I just think having it on the right end of the tank and making it push water all the way to the left end will end up with weak flow on that end.

If you have the space to have it hug the back wall, I would go that route.

It could even be just above the top rim of the tank to get it even closer to the tank. But you'd have to work over the plumbing perhaps. Or maybe you could use spaflex tubing from the OM. I'm going to check your last couple of pages again to see the images.

 

[melev]

Okay, got it. I would definitely put the closed loop behind the tank in the center. You could even mount a small shelf on the center leg or extend the top surface enough to hold the pump. This would shorten the tubing, and avoid anyone walking into the pump and closed loop plumbing.

Or it can go on the floor dead center. The OM device can be up higher, fully supported by rigid PVC, and then snake out to the four bulkheads. I know this that space is at a premium especially in a room that has to be shared with other stuff.

 

[conda]

Well, it cannot go in the middle, there just isn't enough room.

I'm about to give up.

Look at the mess I made tonight, I just cannot get this to work.

I can't get anything to line up.

I can't get the 1.5" union on the pump.

etc.

blah!

Ahhhhhhhhh!

:mad2: